Where is America’s Right Wing?

“Right-Wing,” a terrifying term associated with only the worst minded individuals. Misogynist, racist, capitalist, dictators, religious extremist, and Nazi’s are all right-wing. To be right-wing is to be evil for the sake of being evil, or for the sake of personal gain depending on how empathetic the accuser is. The counter part to the right-wing is of course the left-wing, which justly fights for the rights of the people. Today the left-wing stands strong against the ever growing evil right-wing, defending us against the utter tyranny that right-wingers shall unleash upon if they succeed in their global domination.

What a rather obtuse and childish understanding of American politics, but unfortunately this view is held by many individuals even those considered intelligent and knowledgeable. The truth is that both right-wing and left-wing are complex political philosophies that stem from a similar historical era, both differ due to a central philosophical disagreement, and that both have various nuisances depending on the political movement. Neither or is of course the comic like super villain or hero, a claim that may be obvious to some, but quite foreign to many. We hear the term “right-wing” often in our political climate. Despite this it is seldom used to self-identify by, it is more often used in an insult like manner. However, a true right-wing philosophy appears absent in America, like an apparition haunting the minds of the American political sphere.

Without proper knowledge of the origins of right- and left-wing thought, a comprehensive understanding of the existence of such political philosophies cannot happen. Like much of the political philosophy that looms across our country, the left and right-wing terms were coined during the French revolution. Those who opposed the Bourbon monarchy generally sat on the left side of the national assembly. Those on the left generally supported the revolution, the instillment of a democratic republic and the secularization of society. While those who supported the French monarchy sat on the right. At the time of the French revolution, those considered left followed the Liberal political philosophy of the so-called enlightenment. Characteristically of such thought is the belief that humanity flourishes in a society that allows for equal ability of social movement. While the right-wing counterpart, in their support of the monarchy, believed in an innate social class of humanity. That you are born into a position of society, and that such position is natural and good for you. Both ideologies were separated not only by the position of seating, but also by a belief in a core understanding of human existence.

Today, however, there has been of course a great deal development across all forms of political thought. Using the core disagreement between the left and right of the time of the French revolution, new political movements and ideologies have appeared. Though they may not have existed during the time the terms left, and right were coined, they still hold the core belief of either position. Today, the term left-wing now includes other forms of ideologies that believe liberalism has failed in its goal to provide an open society, such ideologies include socialism, communism, anarchism, and syndicalism. However, it is less clear about the development of the right-wing philosophy, namely there have not been a lot of political groups and movements that consider themselves right-wing or could even be considered right-wing when using an objective criterion. National Socialism and Fascism of course come to mind, but other than those two, it is very sparse. One may say libertarianism is contemporary right-wing ideology. However, a libertarian’s commitment to individual freedom is just the thoughts of the French revolution era liberals regurgitated to an extreme.

Returning to our modern times, the political development that took place during the French revolution has of course deeply affected the development of the American State. America, with its federal system, is an experiment of the enlightenment using the liberal ideas of the French revolution. By reading the Federalist Papers, one cannot deny the influence French philosophers, such as Montesquieu had on the founding fathers. Left-wing ideology runs deep into Americas core, so much so that it is undeniable that America is a left-wing society. Americans do not value an innate hierarchy amongst man, in fact, Americans detest any notion that one man is better because they are cut from a different cloth. Americans revolted against the monarchy, and thus the notion that one can be born of royalty and another of serfdom.   

Since America is indeed a left-wing country, the political parties and the politicians that compose them can also be considered left-wing. So long as they wish to either uphold the status quo of America, or if they wish to further the equity and equality in society, they are left-wing whether they are associated with the Republican or Democratic parties. Despite this, often Republicans and other conservative groups, such as Libertarians, are considered to be right-wing. Such comment is just objectively untrue, by and large Republicans along with the other conservative groups not only support but are the primary advocates for the federalist system that spawned from enlightenment era liberal philosophy. It is instead the progressive political theorist who wish to alter American Federalism for a stronger administrative state. Such desire would alarm the liberals of the French revolution; however, such alteration of Federalism is to progress past our current system towards one that can better achieve the goals of liberalism. Conservative political thought, in the American sense at least, can be considered rather a more classical form of left-wing political thought.

As shown, the mainstream American political system is absolutely deprived of any notion of the right-wing. Yet, the term right-wing or right-wing extremist, is freely used whilst discussing politics in America, so the question still stands, where is the American right-wing?

There are religious movements that can be considered right-wing since they believe in an innate hierarchy given their religious beliefs. Such movements and groups are relatively small in comparison to the rest of the US population and the political impact such groups have varies greatly. Such groups include various Christian communities ranging from traditional Catholic mass worshippers to non-denominational evangelical gathering attendees. The Jewish and small Muslim communities of America should also be considered in this list as well. Yet, it should also be noted that although the members of these groups hold certain beliefs that are undoubtfully right-wing, left-wing values still run rampant in the world views of such people. For instance, the evangelical may believe in a divine hierarchy, and that a man’s fortune is partly influenced by the will of God, they will still most likely believe in the effectiveness of a free-market (they will even probably believe in less restrictions on the market), will hold that a democracy is the best form of government, and often will have an originalist interpretation of the constitution. The three latter ideas being of course extraordinarily liberal. Even amongst those who openly profess right-wing thought, the degree of which right-wing philosophy exist amongst the world view of such individuals is very small.

Despite the lack of a true right-wing movement manifesting, the term “right-wing” is used quite often in our contemporary world. People will accuse others of being right-wing and will claim any trend towards a conservative viewpoint is a slippery slope that will ultimately lead towards a form of right-wing extremism. At a glance, such comments make no sense. Why would someone relate a clearly liberal minded individual to a political philosophy that has gone out of fashion? However, since America is a left-wing nation, calling someone, especially an individual who professes a desire to continue the liberal agenda of America, “right-wing” would be quite an insult. Such a comment would claim that the individual is actively working against the institutions of America. That they are an enemy, who wishes to attack the fundamental philosophies that the United States is built on.

An insult would not be the proper term for such a comment. Rather, it is more akin to an accusation of unfaithfulness. The comments equivalent would be a cult member accusing another of secretly coveting a contrary belief to the cult, one which seeks to dismantle the structure of the cult. Such accusations should bring about great fear and paranoia amongst the ranks of the cult members, as if the standing of their beloved institution was threatened. Such accusations can also serve to moderate the actions and thoughts of others. An individual will fear the repercussions of being accused of being a right-winger, and consequently, self-police their thoughts and actions as to not appear to be right-wing.

Fear is the driving force behind this obsession with political identity that does not truly exist anymore. The politicians and those associated with the political process of America fear the rise in a political philosophy that is counter to the political agendas of America. So any notion that an individual is in any way diverging from the fundamental aspects of left-wing political thought will be looked at with great fear and anxiety. They tremble at the mere thought of resistance and will try to snub out any spark of non-compliance they may find. Today there is no American right-wing, or rather there is no united, vocal right-wing in America. The hollow accusations made by the trembling left should remind us only of their insecurities in their own institutions and in their standing. But hold fast in my confidence, for when the time comes that three men, or however many they be, join arms and announce themselves as the true revolutionaries against the system as it be. The childish screams shall illuminate their position like a spotlight from the heavens.

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